Apple to charge $1.99 for WiFi update

Apple today confirmed they will charge people $1.99 for a software update that will activate WiFi 802.11n on people's Mac computers. This is a bit less than expected as previous reports talked about $4.99.

Every Mac with Intel's Core 2 Duo or Xeon processor has the 802.11n chip, except for the 17-inch iMac with the 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo chip, Apple announced last week at Macworld.

Customers who purchase the new $179 Airport Extreme Base Station also unveiled at Macworld will get the software for free as part of that package when it ships in February. But those who don't want to buy that product will have to pay to download the software, which will appear on Apple's site when the base station starts shipping.

Apple said it is required under generally accepted accounting principles to charge customers for the software upgrade. "The nominal distribution fee for the 802.11n software is required in order for Apple to comply with generally accepted accounting principles for revenue recognition, which generally require that we charge for significant feature enhancements, such as 802.11n, when added to previously purchased products," Fox said in a statement.